© D
HI
IRRIGATION More crop for the drop – improving irrigation system efficiencies
Irrigated agriculture represents 20% of the total cultivated land, but contributes up to 40% of the total global food production. It’s
expected that the world will need 70% more food by 2050 (based on 2005 levels) to cope with growing populations and changing
diets. Irrigation provides a means to meet this increased demand. However, water supplies are limited — which means current
irrigation systems and practices must be more efficient in the future.
Many of the irrigation systems around the world have the potential to increase water use efficiency from around 35% to 75% or
more. These increases in efficiency can partly be met by improving the operation of irrigation schemes — including the introduction
of smart technology (from on-farm soil moisture and weather sensors to canal automation), improved re-use and enhanced
reservoir and river operations. Savings made in irrigation allow the water to be used for other purposes, such as environmental
management. There is also a significant scope for increased use of treated wastewater in irrigation.
THE CHALLENGES
OUR APPROACH The strength of our approach lies in the assessment and design of integrated, flexible solutions
which meet multiple objectives. We achieve this through close collaboration with end-users and
managers, adapting each solution to the scope and local conditions — whether in industrialised or
developing countries.
OUR SOLUTIONS Irrigation canal system design
Canal control and automation
System efficiency improvements
Irrigation demand forecasting
Water auditing
THE ULTIMATE GOAL IMPROVED IRRIGATION SYSTEM EFFICIENCIES
DHI MARKET AREA: SURFACE & GROUND WATER
Salinity management
Simulation of complex irrigation schemes
Incorporating irrigation schemes into
catchment-wide management planning
Reservoir operation
Improving irrigation system efficiencies
Balancing water supply and demand
Understanding system constraints
Assessing and forecasting crop water demand
Optimising system operation
Reducing seepage and operational losses
Managing salinity and water quality
Understanding groundwater-surface water
interactions
Balancing environmental and economic
objectives
Quantifying potential storage capture and re-use
Achieving efficient drainage without water
logging
DHI MARKET AREA: SURFACE & GROUND WATER ©
DH
I -
Ph
oto
cre
dits isto
ck:
Cove
r p
ho
to ©
Mik
e_
Kie
v,
Ph
oto
ab
ove ©
la
ug
hin
gm
an
go
Contact us: [email protected]
For more information, visit: www.dhigroup.com
OUR TOOLS AND SERVICES
We can provide you with everything you need to improve the efficiencies of your irrigation system. Our tools and services include:
hydraulic analysis of canal and pipe networks and the
operation of structures
real-time operations
groundwater interactions and conjunctive use
long-term planning and system optimisation
water allocation assessment
water quality modelling
rainfall radar systems and remote sensing
capacity building and training by THE ACADEMY by DHI
MIKE Powered by DHI software tools:
MIKE 11 — river modelling
MIKE SHE — integrated catchment modelling
FEFLOW — simulation model for subsurface flow and
transport processes
MIKE BASIN — integrated river basin planning
REAL TIME — river operations and early warning
PLANNING — investment planning and decision support
80% of global water use is for irrigation, but there is often potential to double the efficiency of irrigation schemes